christmas 2015

halloween 2015

pieces of now

  

not in any particular order, all mixed up, but still super cute. kind of like life right now. 

the bear at four months

the bug, the bunny, and the bear

it's long past time to share what's been up with team awesome.  team awesome has been busy.  team awesome is kicking my butt and knocking my socks off all at once.  team awesome is, well, awesome. let's start where it all started.  with the bug.

the bug

my bug is now four-and-three-quarters, and that's a very important fact to remember.  you do not want to get caught saying four-and-a-half, believe me.  the bug is so very full of life and love and curiosity and wonder.  he has maintained his mysterious southern accent but has added a bit of "monster truck dude" twang to the mix. he has a knack for math and can do addition, subtraction, and even some multiplication. a regular interaction between me and will when i'd pick him up from camp this summer went something like this:

"hey buddy!  how was camp?"

"fine.  what's 3+8+9+3+2+14+1?"

"um, hold on a minute."

will still loves cars and racing but claims to have an interest in spiderman, which has everything to do with luca, his best friend.  luca likes ninja turtles and chews gum and really lives on the edge, and is teaching will all those things mommy and daddy don't.  luca rocks.  and i'm keeping my eye on him.

will started pre-k last week, and it was so fun to watch him run down the halls of his little school with such joy and confidence.  he owns that place.  it's amazing to think that two years ago his first teachers were peeling him out of my arms, sobbing and scared to leave me.  which brings me to the bunny.

the bunny

                                              

my precious little bunny.  the bunny is riding the turbulent waves of the twos with grace and a lot of yelling.  sistah has a lot going on.  a new baby brother, molars, a sinus infection, school starting.  i even threw baby ballet into the pot, which is incredibly cute but might be asking too much.  my little lady has become very mommy-dependent over the last few months, and i'll take every last hug and cuddle, but it makes separations difficult.  which means starting nursery school last week, even with her best friend ella in class with her, was quite difficult.  for me and the bunny.  because when someone takes your screaming child out of your arms and expects you to leave, it's hard.  but we did it - we both did - and i know things will get better.  soon she'll be bounding down those school halls with the same boldness as her brother.  

the bunny's interests these days include applesauce squeezies, bean, calliou, taylor swift, and babies.  it's an eclectic range, i know.  she's a special lady.

and the bear

                                             

                                  

oh, baby bear.  what is there not to say about the bear?  the bear is sweetness and cuteness incarnate.  he is the snuggliest, happiest little baby and i could kiss his face all day long.  poor baby bear has to spend a lot of time in his car seat, though, trucking his big brother and sister to and from school and play dates and activities.  when the car stops at, say, a stop light, and your binky falls out, it can be a hard to time be the baby bear.  and the baby bear's mom.  there's lots of crying in the car, and it's very sad. in fact, those cries break my heart, every time.  it's not easy being the third child, but it sure is fun.  those big kids love their baby brother to pieces, and are constantly tickling him and kissing him and singing to him and bringing him all sorts of toys he's far too little to play with (mostly race cars).  

the bear has the silliest little smile and giggle.  he loves ceiling fans like his big brother did, and binkies like his sister. mr. owl is his favorite friend on the play mat.  oh, and baby bear sleeps.  this is very, very important. baby bear will sleep five or six hour stretches at once!  go baby bear!

and that's all i have time to say about the bug, the bunny, and the bear for right now.  because someone needs bunny crackers, another one needs to nurse, and another just needs a hug.  and i'm on it.  

baby bird

a photo for rory

see how much your dad has always loved you?

three weeks, in no particular order

 

                                    

in full bloom

when we learned you were growing inside of me, the first chill of fall had entered the october air and the leaves had begun to fade from their bright summer green to rustic reds, oranges, yellows, and browns. they soon fell, and the trees and bushes stood bare against the sky's late autumn gray, and days turned to dark night by late afternoon. a long and cold and snowy winter descended upon us. and all this time you grew, and i thought of you.

the snow and cold felt like they would never leave this year, and stayed with us well into march. spring was icy and wet and windy. it was late april before i noticed the first buds on the trees, before it was wet and warm enough for will and quinn to splash through puddles in the backyard. and through all this you grew, and i thought of you.

when i thought of you i thought of flowers blooming. i told myself that when i planted the flowers in their pots in may, you would nearly be here. and that when the pale lilac bush blossomed at the end of the driveway, your arrival would be imminent. i planted the flowers, zinnias and salvia and baby's breath, and the lilac bush bloomed. and still you grew, and i thought of you.

then, time stood still and the world stopped moving, and you were born. 

in nature's perfect synchronicity, the white bouquets of the hydrangea bush next to our front door burst open the day we brought you home, announcing once and for all the return of summer and the joy of new life.

i think i'll always be reminded of you when the flowers bloom, rory. you, like the fresh blossoms surrounding us, represent the end of a harsh winter and the beginning of life's best season of all.

rory, in full bloom at six days old.

he's here!

introducing 

rory colin moynihan

june 19, 2015

5:31am

7lbs 12oz and 20.75 inches long 

and loved beyond measure.

to bean, on her tenth

introducing, taylor swift!

too pregnant

too pregnant to walk, to pregnant to bend, too pregnant to play, too pregnant to sleep, too pregnant to write. 

but not too pregnant to show off these photos of my beautiful chicks. 

will and quinn's baby brother could arrive any day now. we're swept up in the excitement of anticipation and the tension of waiting and wondering, waiting and wondering. one thing i don't wonder about: the love these two will have for their brother, which has been growing in their hearts for months now. 

rory is a lucky baby, indeed. we are all so very lucky.

an update on bean

our little bean has had a difficult year. between cataracts and cancer and chemotherapy,

aging hit my girl hard and all at once.  white hair has spread beneath her eyes and around her bum, giving away her nearly ten years.  

she can't see where the sticks fall when they're thrown, and our nightly routine consists of two different eye drops, one massive eye health supplement, a liquid cancer medication, and children's claritin. 

however, she still chases sticks with vigor, and happily accepts her medicine with cheese.  

the cancer seems to have retreated. she enjoys her chicken jerky treats more than ever and 

savors her afternoons in the sun.  she has a brother and a sister and the most important job in the world: taking care of them.  she bolts out the door when i say the words, "time to pick up will at school!" and the teachers at drop-off greet her by name.  quinn has been overcome with bouts of "mithin' bean" when we're out running errands.  

bean also takes care of me.  she's by my side in the quiet, and in the loud.  my little witness, my forever friend.  she brings me more comfort than seems possible.  i think back on the many lives i led over the last ten years, and bean is a part of every picture. i am so thankful for her, and that, together, we made it here, to this family and this home. right where we both belong.

i love you, bean. we all do.

eastah, bai-yina dwesses, and mud puddles, oh my!

also, this boy needs to stop growing. enough's enough!